Container and covering means



Dec. 19, 1944. A. P. GEIMER CONTAINER AND COVERING MEANS Filed May 12,1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l jsilllll I'll/671L 02 QILL /QOHJP 685m gr -0. W

Dec. 19, 1944. GEIMER 2,365,186

CONTAINER AND COVERING MEANS Filed May 12, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gal oryGea'mer Patented Dec. 19,1944

Anthony P/Gcimcr, Two Rivers, Wis., assignor to Hamilton ManufacturingCompany, Two Rivers, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application May12, 1941, Serial No. 393,001

' 8 Claims. (Cl. 312-190) This invention relates to improvements incontainer and covering means more particularly for drawers of cabinetsused by engineers, draftsmen, and the like, for filing. or storingrelatively large sheetssuch asdrawings, blue prints, tracings or maps,in flat, generally horizontal position.

By the use of my present invention the sheets,

which have a tendency to curl, are kept flatter by providing a hoodwhich may be tensioned thereover, thus enhancing the safeguards againstdisplacement of the sheets while at the same time protecting themagainst dust, exposure and mutllation.

The invention may be understood by referenceto the followingdescription, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a plan view of a drawer with my invention applied thereto,the figure being divlded into two parts for clearness of description andthe lower part being a section taken on the line of Fig. 2 with theparts not shown;

Figure 2 is a section on a larger scale taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l,intermediately broken away to conserve space;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective sectional view on the scale ofFig. 2, 'of parts at the front edge of the drawer shown in Figs. 1 and2; and

Figure 4 is a similar fragmentary perspective sectional view, also onthe scale of Fig. 2, in an alternative position, of parts shown in Figs.1 and 2 at the rear edge of the drawer.

' Referring in detail to the illustrative embodiment shown in thedrawings, the drawer or other normally horizontal open top container I0is preferably of sheet metal and is in part conventional, being made upof the bottom panel- H, which, at the rear edge of the drawer, is turnedup to form the rear wall l2, and at the front of the drawer is turned upto form the front wall part I 2a, both conveniently integral with thebottom panel 'At its sides, the bottom panel may have the walls Iii-l3welded thereto, the side walls being integrally fianged' for thispurpose as at I4 and the upper edges of the side walls I 3 being turnedover as at l5 to form an outboard inverted channel cooperating withcabinet parts, not here shown, for sliding of the drawer in the cabinet.

The front wall member I6 is conventionally a separate plate secured overthe front wall portion In and bent upon itself, at its top as at IT, itsbottom as at N, and its ends'as at |9-'-|3, to form channels enclosingother drawer parts already described to which it may suitably be ends ofthe side walls they may carry brackets |3a faced with rubber bumpersI31).

1 In accordance with the present invention, the material forming therear and front wall parts l2 and |2a is continued integrally in planeshorizontal with the bottom panel ii to form the rear shelf 20 and frontshelf 2| respectively. The

shelf 2| as already alluded to, is desirably received within thechannel'forming part H of the front wall plate It into which alsoextends, under the shelf 2|, as here shown, the upper end 22 of an innerfront wall plate 23.

This inner front wall 23 is advantageously Z- shape throughout the frontof the drawer, having a horizontal part 24 which spaces from the wallpart |2a the upright part 25 of the inner front wall 23, the materialforming the part 25 being again bent conveniently as at 28 to lap thedrawer bottom II, the parts 22 and 23 providing welding flanges.

In the knee 21 of the inner front wall 23 is a slot having a laterallyenlarged part 28 in the inner front wall upper part 22 and a reducedslot part 29 in the upright wall part 25. There are desirably at leasttwo of these slots spaced well apart along the drawer front, as bestshown in Fig. 1, to receive the enlarged heads 30, respectively, ofbuttons 3|, carried, as here shown, on the front face of the upstandingflange 32 of a front stiffening element 33. The stiffening element 33 ispreferably of sheet metal, zinc plated. The flange 32 is desirablyinturned slightly as at 34 to be readily grasped, anywhere along thefront of the drawer, by the fingers of the draftsman or other user, aspresently further described. The buttons 3| may be riveted as at 35 onthe rear face of the flange 32, through which they pass in suitableholes provided there- Attached to the front stiffening element 33 is acover member for the drawer such as the flexible cover 33 preferablymadeof an imitation rubberized leather or the like, andof a size tosubstantially cover the entire open top of the drawer. At its rear edgethe cover 33 is secured to a rear stiffening element 31 here shown inthe form of a metallic plate having a flat part 38 and a downturnedintegral flange 39 lapping but spaced rearwardly of the upright rearwall it. The list part it lies across and is supported by the shelf 10of the rear wall l2, upon which it slides, for purposes of the'presentinvention, slots ll in the part II receiving slidingly therein theshanks of headed studs ll, which are threaded to screw into tappedapertures 42 in the shelf 20.

The heads of the studs II are of course larger part 38 of the rearstiffening element 31 is offset slightly downwardly as at 43 and isslidingly supported at each side of the drawer by lugs ll convenientlystruck inwardly form the material of the drawer side walls ii.

For secure and yet readily removable and replaceable attachment of theflexible cover 38 to the front and rear st ffening elements 33 and 31,these elements at their opposed edges are bent u on themselves n aplurality of bends as at 45 and 48 res ectively. and t e adjacent edgesof the flexib e cover I! are folded upon themselves in a, plurality offolds as at 41 and 48 res ectively. These folds may be advanta eously sttched as at I! and may then he slid into the bends 45 and 48 of thestifl'ening'elements by sliding them telescopically in a directionparallel with the stiffening elements, that is. from one s'de of thedrawer toward the other. as best show-n in Fig. 3, the bends 45 and 46of the sti ening elements thus interlocking with the folds l and 48 of te flexible cover, as best shown in Fi 2. providing a firm pp ng actiontherebetween.

Interposed between the downturned flange 39 of the rearstiffeninfielement 311 and the rear wall 12 of the drawer are, as hereshown. sprin means such as a pair of leaf sprin s 50 welded in thisinstance as at to the inner face of the flange 39, and bear ng. at theirouter free ends as at 52, a ainst the rear face of the rear wall If instunder the shelf 20, pressing rearwardly thereon.

It will be understood that when the stiffening elements 33 and 31 areflrst attached to the flexible cover 36. the buttons 3| may be removedfrom the slots 29 and that the len th of the flexible cover 36 fromfront to rear of the drawer is such that when so attached the headedstuds I are at the forward ends of the: slots I. moved to that positionunder the influence of the springs 50, as ind cated in Fig. 4, the rearstiffenin element having slid rearwardly upon the support or shelf 20.wh le the buttons 3i just fall short of engaging the slots 29 at thefront of the drawer.

Thereupon, the rear stiffening element having thus a resilient oryielding connection between it and its su ort, the upstanding flan e 32of the front stiffening element 33 may be grasped and pulled upon toplace the springs 5|! under tension so that the heads 30 of the buttons3! may be placed first in the slots 28 and then moved downwardly in theslots 29 to provide an anchora e for the front stiffen ng element, therear stiffening element moving forwardly. i. e., in a direction normalto the stiffening element. against the force of the sprin s 80 aspermitted by play of the headed studs 4| in assures the elongated slotsII. and to some tion as indicated in Fig. 2'.

Thus, the flexible member it is positively kept taut, while at the sametime it may be grasped for manipulation anywhere along the front of thedrawer and may be readily replaced when worn. If there are only a fewsheets of drawings or the like in the drawer it, the buttons 3] may bepushed down to the lower ends of the slots 20 bringing the frontstiffening element 31 into closer proximity with the sheets, and, whilestill maintaining the tension as described, as the drawer is more andmore filled, the buttons may move upwardly in the slots 29 toaccommodate the greater number of sheets while still maintainingproximity with the front edges of the drawings and enhancing thesafeguard against curing of the front edges, at which pointobjectionable curling is most likely to take place. Curling of the rearedges of the sheets is safeguarded against by the fact that the rearedges of the sheets generally lie under the rear stiffening element 31and at least under the rear portion of the flexible cover 36.

It will be understood that the tension of the springs 50 is not sostrong but what the flange 32 may be readily pulled forward by slightpressure of the fingers to lift the buttons 3| from the slots 28-29 andraise the front stiifening element 33 together with the flexible cover38 when access to the interior of the drawer is desired for removal orinsertion of a drawing, blue print or other sheet, and that in themeantime enhanced protection for the sheets is provided. The springs 50in yielding when the flange 32 is pulled forwardly to raise the buttons3| out of the slots 28-49 permit the rear stiffening element 31 to slideforwardly to place the studs 4|, say, at the extreme rear ends of theslots 40, for this purpose.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a normally horizontal open top container for relatively largesheets including a flexible cover member carried by the container, thatimprovement therein wherein there are stiffening elements attached tothe front and rear edges respectively of the cover member, the frontstiffening element being in the form of an. angle member having anupstanding flange extending throughout the width of the cover memberwhereby it may be manually grasped substantially anywhere therealong,the rear stiffening element being in the form of a plate having limitedsliding movement upon a rear wall of the container and having adownturned flange spaced rearwardly of said rear wall, a pair of leafsprings being carried by said downturned flange and having their freeends pressing against said rear wall, and wherein the front wall of thecontainer has an inner front wall with slots therein enlarged at theirtop ends and reduced at their lower ends, the said upturned flange ofthe front stiffening element being provided with buttons projectingforwardly therefrom aligned with said front wall slots and receivabletherein to place the cover member under tension of said springs.

2. In a normally horizontal open top container for relatively largesheets including a flexible cover member carried by the container, thatimprovement therein wherein there are stiffening elements attached tothe front and rear edges respectively of the cover member and the covermember is removably attached to the container at said edges thereofrespectively through the such podintermediation of said'stifleningelements, one of said stiffening elements having a yielding connectionwith the container and the other still.- ening element having anupstanding finger-hold portion materially extended in a directiontransversely of the cover member whereby it may be readily grasped topull the cover member forward against the force of said yieldingconnection.

3. In a normally horizontal open top container for relatively largesheets including a flexible cover member carried by the container, thatimprovement therein wherein the cover member is attached to thecontainer through the intermediation of angularly formed stiffeningelements attached to the front and rear edges respectively of the covermember extending transversely thereof, the rear stiffening elementhaving a spring connection with the container, and wherein thestiifening elements at their opposed edges are formed in a plurality ofbent portions and the cover member is folded upon itself in a, pluralityof more than two folds secured together and interlocked with the bentportions of the stiflening elements against substantial relativemovement except by slidably telescoping therewith in a directionparallel with the stiffening elements and from side to side of the covermember for ready removal or replacement of the cover member, the frontstiffening element being provided with means for securing it to thecontainer to place the cover member under tension, said connection andsaid securing means being arranged to cooperate with the angularformations of the stiffening elements respectively.

4. In a normally horizontal open top container for relatively largesheets including a flexible cover member carried by the container, thatimprovement therein wherein the container is provided with a shelfadjacent its rear edge and the cover member is attached at its rear edgeto a metal plate received slidingly on said shelf and having aconnection therewith whereby the plate has limited movement thereon in adirection from front to rear of the container, the plate having a rightangular flange spaced rearwardly of said shelf, wherein spring means areinterposed between said flange and the container urging the plate andcover member in a rearward direction, and wherein means are provided forreleasably anchoring the forward edge of the cover member to the forwardpart of the container against the force of said spring means.

6. In a normally horizontal open top container for relatively largesheets including a flexible cover member carried by the container, thatimprovement therein wherein the container has an upstanding rear wallprovided with a shelf and the cover member is attached at its rear edgeto a metal plate lying slidingly on said shelf and having a stud andslot connection therewith whereby the plate has limited movement in adirection from front to rear of the container, the plate having adownturned flange spaced rearwa'rdly of said shelf, wherein springs areinterposed between said flange and the container rear wall urging theplate and cover member in a rearward direction, and wherein means areprovided for releasably anchoring the forward edge of the cover memberto the forward part of the container against the force of said springs.

6. In a normally horizontal open top container for relatively largesheets including a flexible cover member carried by the container, thatimprovement therein wherein there is a stiffening element attached tothe rear edge of the cover member, wherein the container is providedadjacent its rear portion with asupport for the said stiffening elementand wherein the said stiifening element has elongated slots therein andsaid support carries headed'studs passing through the slots whereby thesaid stiffening element may have limited movement on the support,wherein spring means are provided between the container and thestiffening element for urging the stiffening element rearwardly on saidsupport, and wherein means are provided adjacent the forward portion ofthe container for releasably anchoring the front edge of the covermember.

'I. In a normally horizontal open top container for relatively largesheets including a flexible cover member carried by the container, thatimprovement therein wherein the container is provided with a shelfadjacent its rear edge and having a downturned flange spaced rearwardlyof said shelf, wherein springs are interposed between said flange andthe container urging the plate and cover member in a rearward direction,and wherein means are provided for releasably anchoring the forwardedge'of the cover member to the forward part of the container againstthe force of said springs.

8. In a normally horizontal open top container for relatively largesheets including a flexible cover member carried by the container, thatimprovement therein wherein there is a sheet metal stiffening elementattached to the rear edge of the cover member, wherein the container isprovided adjacent its rear portion with a support for the saidstiffening element and wherein the said stiifening element is in theform of an angle member having a downturned flange lapping said supportbut spaced rearwardly thereof and a leaf spring is carried by saiddownturned flange pressing against the support to urge the cover memberrearwardly, wherein means are provided adjacent the forward portion ofthe container for releasably anchoring the front edge of the covermember, and wherein lugs are mounted on the container intermediallythereof to slidingly carry the said stiffening element adjacent theplace where the stiffening element is attached to the cover member.

ANTHONY P. GEIMER.

